IDW #200 Repurposed War Walker

After the great war the BAUMEISTER CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION bought a huge number of retired war machines and repurposed them to heavy duty construction machines. They now serve peacefully on hundreds of construction sites all over the globe, re-erecting the buildings they shattered only years before. Their once feared high efficiency blood spilling capabilities, have been turned into high effeciency cement spilling capabilities.

I tried to alter the overall feel of the machine as little as possible, I wanted to turn the weaponry into similar shaped peaceful parts without totally changing the silhuette.

A walker equipped with a gatling-system combined with flamethrowers during the war.
A walker equipped with a gatling-system combined with fresh-water sprayers after the war. Let's rebuild the world and start with the flowers!

Well - I didn't manage to get anything finished, but I'm making myself post it anyway. Not sure if I've done enough to make poll, but it was good practice! Good luck everyone!

Here's a description for my entry...

FIRE FIGHTERS CO-OPERATIVE

AQUISITION NO: 2961

CLASS: MILITARY HARDWARE

MAKE: H-A.M.R TITAN

MODEL: GORILLA SKIRMISHER

RANGE: URBAN & SHORT-RANGE FIELD OPERATIONS

DESCRIPTION:

• Pre-WW3 British military manned war-walker.
• Designed for close to medium range fighting and technical operations.
• Equipped with rapid-fire cannon armature capable of loading standard armour-piercing, explosive or electromagnetic shells.
• The other option included on this model is a powerful robotic arm incorporating an extendable gas-lance designed primarily for injecting disabling gases into buildings.
• The unit was typically deployed to disable other heavy-hardware threats, or in complex tactical urban operations.

This particular model has proven itself as ideally suited to fire-fighting operations in the often debris-covered areas of our post-war landscape. The rear has been fitted with a water-tank, feeding a hose clamped to the de-activated cannon armature. The gas lance has also been re-purposed by fitting a CO2 tank for starving fires of oxygen in closed spaces. The arm itself is very useful for moving debris, and breaking into or collapsing structures.

The X-28 was the war instrument the rebellion feared most. Equipped with long range mortars and advanced sighting and aiming equipment, it could shell rebellion camps from farther than the naked eye could see. The X-28s were controlled by a vicious A.I. that decimated all in their path.

After the war was over, the surviving rebels utilized the strength and advanced sensors to water and watch over acres and acres of farmland. The A.I. was reprogrammed to be so docile that they have even been spotted taking the time to pick flowers for the nearby village girls.

Fantastic work everyone! A few notes I have to cover. Most of you have managed to meet the submission guidlines, however- Absorber- I don't see a wartime version of your bot. I'm going to let you get to poll, but please try to meet all the requirements next time.themonet- You do not have any orthos or wartime sketch so sadly I'm not able to place you in the poll. I'm leaving your submission up so you can get some crits.

And finally: I know we haven't had the impetus of prizes weighing too heavily, but I'm going to keep working as hard as I can at getting whatever I can. Thank you all again for such amazing entries and good luck!

awesome entries !! couldnt decide between gunsbin, snailspace and ragtag , but voted for snailspace ultimately ...
@gunsbins : i'd say it was probably the best rendered entry but the only thing that felt off to me was that , at first glance it did not look like a regular/ typical " walker " ...
@ snailspace : i like the intense detail and the overall idea , but i didnt like your "messy" presentation , i'd have kept it simple and clean with less distractions and better colors for the background ... i voted for you anyway
peace
-v

The Following User Says Thank You to vibhas_virwani For This Useful Post:

Well done everyone - I hope you're all proud of the work you've put in. It's a shame there aren't more posts - it was an interesting topic to explore.

I still can't believe it's been nearly 3 years since IDW #100! I really should do more mechanical stuff - I rarely do, and yet it's a lot of fun to step outside of my comfort zone and explore something different and challenging. I'll probably try and clean my work up a bit when I'm feeling less fatigued with it.

Here's a few (non-critical) comments for you -

Ragtag - A clean well-defined design and the conversion has been clearly described in the image - also nice that you did full orthos for before and after.

Absorber - Looks like you've put a lot of thought into your illustration. I like the contrast of colour - with the hope of new life against the dead greys of the environment.

Gunsbins - I really like the clean rendering of your mech. It's very convincing - I actually thought it was CG to begin with!

SnailsPace - I like how you thought BIG and pulled it off really well - It does look like it would be huge. You've added some personaility to the design too (in the detailing).

Mythmaker - No comment!

Themonet - Sorry you didn't make the poll, but well done for submitting. It's a nice idea - I can see what you're trying to communicate and you've captured an interesting mood with it.

Toshi666 - It's a shame you fell outside the deadline - that's some really nice work (would have looked good on the banner!). Another cleanly rendered piece which also looks convincing - like it might work in real life. The optional extra-arms attachment is a nice touch too!

Oh yeah - need to vote! Ok... I think I'll go for gunsbins just because I'm jealous of how clean/solid/dimensional it looks!